Saying Something Went Wrong with Israel's Attack on Rafah, PM Netanyahu: We Are Investigating

(ki-ka) Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. (GPO/Kobi Gideon source)

JAKARTA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that there was something wrong with his military attack on Rafah which killed civilians, saying an investigation into the matter was underway.

PM Netanyahu said the air strikes in the southern region of Gaza were not intended to cause civilian casualties.

"In Rafah, we have evacuated around 1 million non-combatant residents and although we have made maximum efforts not to harm the non-combatant population, unfortunately something went wrong," he said in a speech in parliament, reported by Reuters, May 28.

"We are investigating this incident and will draw conclusions, because this is our policy," he said.

As previously reported, an Israeli airstrike sparked a large fire that killed 45 people at a refugee tent camp in Rafah, officials said Monday.

More than half of the dead were women, children and the elderly, health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza said, adding the toll was likely to rise as many of those trapped in the fire were in critical condition and had severe burns.

Israeli military prosecutor Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi called the airstrike "very serious", saying an investigation was underway.

"The IDF regrets any losses to non-combatants during the war," Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi said at a conference on Monday.

Israel continues to carry out attacks on Rafah despite a UN high court decision on Friday ordering them to stop their attacks, arguing that the court decision gives them (militants, ed) space to carry out military action there.

"The details of this incident are still under investigation, which we are committed to carrying out fully," said Major General Yerushalmi, quoted by The Times of Israel.

The Israeli military said the air strike was precise and based on correct intelligence information, killing two senior commanders of the Hamas group.

On the other hand, Gaza officials and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that the target area of ​​the attack was a refugee camp that had recently been established near the warehouse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) northwest of Rafah.

Earlier on Sunday, eight rockets were intercepted after being fired from the Rafah area. A minister said it showed the need to continue operations against Hamas.